DoorDash is the latest company to roll out a Creator Program. As part of broader app updates—including AI features and discounts—the program lets creators earn money (the monetization model hasn’t been shared yet) by producing “eligible” short-form videos promoting local restaurants in more than 20 cities, including Atlanta, San Francisco, and Miami.

Syracuse University announced the launch of the nation’s first academic Center for the Creator Economy, a joint initiative between the Whitman School of Management and the Newhouse School of Communications. The center is designed to prepare students for careers in digital content and entrepreneurship through courses, research, and industry partnerships.

Music has become synonymous with the social media experience. It drives trends, fuels engagement, and adds personality to short-form video content, which makes up the bulk of today’s feeds. Whether you are scrolling TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts, chances are the video you are watching is paired with a song. In fact, 85% of videos on TikTok, 84% of videos on YouTube, 58% on Instagram, and 49% on Facebook contain at least 10 seconds of music.

Instagram has crossed 3 billion monthly active users, joining Facebook and WhatsApp at this major milestone. For all the talk about it “dying,” the platform remains deeply embedded in culture and continues to grow.

Instagram will soon launch a new Shareable Insights feature for its video editing app, Edits.

LinkedIn is running a pilot program curating a set of AI tools designed to help professionals across categories like Development/Coding, Design/Marketing, and Career Coaching.

At its Made On YouTube event, YouTube announced over $100 billion in payouts to creators, artists, and media companies, alongside 30+ updates across shopping, brand deals, AI creation tools, podcasts, live streaming, and music.

At Meta Connect, Meta announced several new smart glasses and metaverse technologies. Along with a second generation of its flagship Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and the Oakley Meta Vanguard designed for athletes, it revealed the Meta Ray-Ban Display, a new category of smart glasses featuring an in-lens display.

Google is updating the Discover feed in its Search app. In the coming weeks, users will see more creator-driven content, including Instagram posts, X posts, YouTube Shorts, as well as traditional articles and stories. Google says more platforms will be added, with my predictions being TikTok, LinkedIn, and Substack content as next.

The creator marketing industry is set to hit $500 billion by 2027, according to Goldman Sachs. The sheer amount of money flowing into the space reflects the impact creators are having on businesses today and their growing influence on purchase decisions across every demographic.

LinkedIn has upgraded its analytics with two new metrics for creators: Saves and Sends.

Back in August, Kajabi announced a major milestone – it has paid out $10 billion to creators, just months after hitting the $9 billion threshold, 100% of which has gone directly to creators.